Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Club J II - Fort Worth circa 1995

FORT WORTH – Club J II

In 1995 the opportunity presented itself to reopen Club J in the DFW Metroplex right near the cultural district off Fort Worth.
Rinehart, Speers, Curlee and Locks had all relocated after leaving HPU
to the DFW area and Speers started working as a youth/college minister
at a small church near downtown Fort Worth.

“I
was getting my graduate degree at Baylor but had become friends with a
group of TCU students,” Speers said. “Because of my history in helping
start the original club it was a natural thing to have discussions about
re-opening it in the DFW area somewhere. We still had the lights and
most of the equipment and a group of high school and TCU students ready
to help put it together. All we needed was the place.”

Trinity
Fellowship provided the perfect location when pastor John Paul Jackson
asked Speers to take the position as youth and college minister.Sadly,
Jackson died suddenly in 2014. Without his passion for reaching the lost
and his openness to God doing things "outside the box" Club J Fort
Worth would have never happened.

A Christian night
club in that area of the city would be a perfect outreach tool for the
church and the church had a large “upper room” that was simply perfect
for something like Club J. It was a perfect setup.

Club
J II was smaller in scale and in operations than the original 1991 club
since it was located in the back of an existing church. Less work was
necessary to get it up and running but there was still some work to be
done including building a DJ booth, installing lights and sound
equipment and ripping up the old flooring. People like Scott Rinehart,
Michael Harris, Katherine Cohen, Wendy Goshen, Lee Savitz, Shana Savitz,
Maury Potts, Dallas Perry, Kasey VanY plus many other college and high
school students provided all of the labor.

“Yea,
just like the first club, we had to redo the floors, paint everything,
install the lights and sound system and build a massive DJ booth but it
only took us a few months instead of the year it took to get the first
one in Brownwood
open,” Speers said. “Plus it was so neat to be right downtown. You
could see the skyline right out the back windows and our proximity to
TCU made it a perfect way to reach out to those students. One of the
coolest things was how the music would be booming from the outside and
the club lights would be flashing in sync in the large old windows.”

“I
remember long days of scaffolding and painting the walls black and
getting excited about the opening,” Katherine Cohen remembered. “Ben and
Robin Paisley rocking the house. Our high school kids from church
meeting Jesus and then bringing their friends who then also met him!”

Though it had only been five years since the original club was opened in Brownwood,
the Christian nightclub scene had already started moving away from
“dance” oriented clubs and more to the live concert or hang out type of
venue. Clubs had started opening up all over the nation including the Dallas
area with the opening of places like “The Door” in Deep Elm. Dancing
was still part of the overall structure, but Club J II focused on
providing a variety of concerts and events. Either way hundreds of young
people from all over the DFW area came to check it out and the club was
always loud, fun and full of energy.

“I
remember that we were breaking the mold of the time and would explain
it to people by saying it wasn't a 'Christian club' but 'a club run by
Christians'. That's not an unusual thing now, but at the time it was
radical!” Cohen added.

Probably the biggest event was the Judah CD release concert/party held at the club in the spring of 1996. At the time, Judah
was a very popular Christian rock band with TCU students. They had a
new CD coming out that year and Club J was chosen as the venue to
showcase and launch the new record with a live concert. Over 300
students showed up that night and the place was packed.

“I
remember feeling the floor go up and down as the crowd danced and
jumped to the music,” Speers said. “I am certain we were breaking all
kinds of city codes! But it was one of the greatest nights in the
history of either Club J locations. Judah got a big chance to share the good news of Christ with hundreds of young people that night.”

Club
J was located in a run down part of the cultural district of Fort
Worth. It gave life to an area chopped full of empty store fronts,
darkness and old buildings. Today, that area is known as “7th” and is
full of nightspots, restaurants, bars and shopping. It’s the hotspot of
the city.

As with the original Brownwood club, Club J II in Fort Worth
also made a lasting impact on the lives of many young people in the
short time the place was open. High school kids, college kids and other
young adults really embraced the idea of a safe place in the middle of
the big city to get away.

Long time friendships were
forged that remain today, and most importantly, others came face to face
with a God that does crazy things like Club J to show them His love.
The full impact will never be known, but the hard work the entire
volunteer staff put in will never be forgotten and certainly those that
offered their time to help make it a success will never forget it.

“I think Club J had as much an impact on the workers as on the youth who came,” said Wendy Goshen a TCU student at the time.

After
a quick but eventful run, the Fort Worth Club J was forced to shut down
after the building it was in was sold and the church had to relocate. A
small crowd gathered for one final night as the lights on Club J were
turned off forever.

“At
that time it was sad, but I also knew it was over,” Speers said. “I was
moving on, other options for Christians were popping up and God had
done with Club J what He wanted to do. I know we made a difference in
many lives. It certainly did in mine.”

CLUB J REMEMBERED

Twenty years later, Christian clubs are now the norm across America.
Club J was well ahead of its time. From coast to coast, nearly every
large city in the country now boasts some form of Christian based, drug
free, night club entertainment for youth and college students. Club J is
now long in the past but lives were changed, the Christian subculture
has broadened its reach and Christian young adults have now enjoyed two
decades of having some nightclub fun of their own. Christians doing a
little dancing to some groovin’ tunes is simply no big deal now.

The
building Club J was in is still there and another small church has been
operating there all these years. But that entire area is now known as
"West-7th" and it's now one of the hot night spots in the entire DFW
area. Seems Club J might have been somewhat of a trend setter a decade
or so early

“It
really blows my mind that it has been twenty years since the whole
thing went from a radical idea to reality. I remember them starting to
tear down the old buildings in that area. Would have never thought that
place would would be what it is now. My wife and I just went and saw a
movie at a dinner theater down there about 3 blocks from the back side
of what was once the club,” Speers stated. “God does crazy things
sometimes. Club J was certainly one of them.”

I
have too many thoughts to say too much and most of them I put into the
above story. But, I am truly amazed when I look back at what God did
through just a willing group of kids. We were just kids you know. So
many of you guys involved in both clubs have now become life long
friends. Some of you that were students were reached out to are also now
friends on Facebook and the like. God is good. As I get older I cherish
looking back on crazy, cool things God did and I am so humbled that He
would even allow me to be a part of it. In the end if only a few lives
were changed than all of the hard work (and it was!) was all worth it
for both locations. When we all step into eternity maybe we will meet
even more. For now, this reminds me and hopefully does all of you too,
to go find the next “crazy” thing He wants us to be a part of….crazy as
in working in the church nursery or something!

Michael Harris throwing himself into the wall at the FW club will never be forgotten….

Fav
memory.... bouncing around in the mosh pit to Jesus Freak by DC Talk
with Jef, Brian, Chris, Bob, Dominc and the gang. Me at age 15/16 just
under 100lbs, against at least 5 big guys. Oh, the fun days.

Wow!
Great stories, everyone. Sadly, I only visited Club J Fort Worth once
(since I lived out of town then). I remember it being a fun place that
was loud, brightly colored even in the dark, and full of life and
energy. I think Club J. had as much an impact on the workers as on the
youth who came. Great memories! And, long live the killer utensils.

1 comment:

What a great post about a great time and a great step of faith. God is truly faithful! It will not be until we all get to Heaven that we really know the impact Club J had on people, both those who checked it out, and those who served there. What a gift to be a part of that. Love, to all you who are reading this. I miss you all! -Clint

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About Me

Brady Speers is a client focused retirement planning consultant with a
passion to help clients have peace of mind in their retirement years. He helps
clients protect their assets from stock market loss, designs real-time income
plans that produce guaranteed income for life, and offers clients safe,
predictable solutions to properly pass on wealth to loved ones. He treats clients like he would his own family
and keeps things convenient and personal by meeting with people in their homes.
He has maintained that approach for years, despite having clients in three
states and offices in both the Dallas and Houston areas. His approach is very
consultative and educational and his clients love him for being honest, sincere
and logical in his recommendations while leaving sales tactics for others to
employ.

As an income planning, safe-money professional, Brady understands that today’s
retirees and pre-retirees face a situation never before seen in American
history with near historic low interest rates, a volatile market and worries
about global financial unrest, inflation and government indebtedness. He can
help give your financial future safety, security and peace of mind. If concerns
about outliving your money has you tossing and turning, or if fear about the next
big stock market correction keeps you up at night, Brady can offer you safe
strategies that will allow you to sleep like never before.

Brady holds an agent license in various states throughout the Southwest including
Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma and is a member of various financial
and professional associations. He is also an active agent for Senior Advisory
Group and the co-founder of Safe Retirement Experts. Brady is a native of
Houston, Texas, and a graduate of both Howard Payne University and Baylor
University. He currently serves on the Alumni Board of Directors for Howard
Payne University.

Brady has received
the following accolades throughout his career:

2005 National Who’s Who in Executives & Professionals

2012 Excellence in Service Award

2012 Outstanding Achievement Award

2013 Heritage Registry of Who’s Who

On a
personal side, Brady lives in Mansfield, Texas, and has been happily married to
his wife Julie for 11 years. They have identical twin girls and a son, along
with two dogs. In addition to being a very active father and husband, Brady is
heavily involved in his church and is the co-founder of an adoption awareness ministry
called “Embrace”. He spends most of his free time with his family, but he also
enjoys writing, photography and cheering on his favorite sports team, the
Dallas Cowboys.